Art and cultural security in wartime: from individual reflection to global discourse

Abstract

The research aims to provide a comprehensive philosophical and cultural analysis of the transformation of Ukrainian art under the conditions of full-scale war: from individual reflection on trauma to the status of a strategic tool for cultural security. The work substantiates the transition of the artistic product into the dimension of a subjective transnational message that acts as "soft power" in the global discourse. The research is based on a combination of a comparative method, which allowed us to trace common patterns in the development of artistic language in different types of art, and a phenomenological approach aimed at analyzing the experience of the existential challenges of war through corporeality and visual image. The application of the theory of strategic communications made it possible to consider artistic projects not only as aesthetic objects, but as proactive tools for ensuring cultural security and forming the subjective voice of Ukraine in the world. The concept of "anthropological protection" was applied to study the mechanisms of preserving national identity through visual and performative practices. During the research, it was found that the evolution of the artistic language of wartime moved from the primary documentary fixation of the state of shock to a deep symbolic generalization, where local tragedies (for example, the ecocide at the Kakhovka HPP) are interpreted as universal metaphors of moral collapse. It has been proven that muralism and object installations (in particular, O. Say's project "I'm fine") function as "memory points" that ensure the marking of national space and the decolonization of consciousness, turning war artifacts into "evidence sculptures" for the world audience. Special attention is paid to the performing arts (the opera "Gaia-24", modern choreography), which, through "embodied sense-making", translate narratives of resistance without language barriers, asserting Ukraine's subjectivity on international platforms. It was established that the digitalization of heritage through VR and AR technologies acts as an advanced survival strategy, forming a "cultural reserve fund" that guarantees the ontological continuity of memory regardless of physical destruction. Wartime art is defined not only as a repertoire of the "language of survival" but as a powerful system of strategic communication, where an artistic gesture becomes an act of asserting national sovereignty. It is concluded that artistic practices today are a fundamental factor in the humanitarian resilience of the state. They ensure the transition from the private experience of pain to the formation of a proactive message that effectively counters hybrid aggression and integrates the Ukrainian experience into the global value discourse. It is proven that systemic digitalization and institutional support for art are integral components of the national security architecture in the digital age.